
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 1991                   TAG: 9102220347
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RIGHTS FOR DISABLED URGED BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Blind people would be guaranteed the right to take their guide dogs into stores and restaurants under draft public accommodations rules presented Thursday by the Justice Department under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The rules would require that people in wheelchairs be admitted to general-seating areas of theaters and arenas, not segregated in special sections. Clothing stores would have to permit handicapped shoppers to take companions into dressing rooms if assistance is necessary.

Public places of all sorts, from restaurants to auto dealerships, would be required to install ramps, widen doorways or make other "achievable" modifications to provide easier access for disabled people, according to the draft regulations.

Nearly 4 million businesses would have to make the changes by July 1992 if the rules are adopted. The proposed rules would be refined after public hearings.

The sharply debated legislation, signed by President Bush in July, is intended to protect 43 million disabled Americans from discrimination at work, on mass transportation and in public places of business and entertainment.

Hospitals, homeless shelters, private schools, homes used for offices or day-care centers, and rooms in churches and private clubs that are leased to groups for public functions are covered by the law. Other changes requiring physical modifications of buildings were proposed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

Stricter standards, requiring a "high degree of convenient access" for the disabled, would be imposed for facilities being altered and buildings that open after Jan. 26, 1993.

The law allows the exclusion of customers who "pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others," but otherwise bars discrimination against the disabled, including people infected with HIV, the AIDS-causing virus.

Supporters on Thursday applauded the draft rules. "The regulations show a clear understanding of the issues of discrimination against people with disabilities," said Patrisha A. Wright, director of governmental affairs for the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Inc.

However, she conceded the rules are seeded with many of the same issues that sparked political debate last year. For example: What is "achievable" and what isn't in modifying a building to accommodate the disabled? What constitutes a legitimate alternative way of meeting the regulations?

Such issues are expected to be raised during public hearings on the proposed regulations. The hearings are scheduled for March 13-15 in Washington and on other dates in Dallas, San Francisco and Chicago.

by CNB